EPISODE 7: THE MAN WHO KNOWS MY SECRETS
1128 Words
“Dad…?”
The word trembled out of my mouth like it didn’t belong to me.
For a second, the world went silent.
No air.
No sound.
Just him.
Standing there.
Alive.
Watching me.
My heart started pounding so hard it felt like it would tear through my chest.
“I thought you were dead…” I whispered, my voice breaking before I could stop it.
He didn’t move closer.
Didn’t smile.
Didn’t even look surprised.
“I had to be,” he said calmly.
Those four words hit harder than anything.
My brows furrowed, confusion rushing in. “What… what does that even mean?”
Behind me, I could feel him the man who found me the one who knew everything.
The one who ruined my quiet life.
I turned slightly, my eyes flicking to him.
He was watching both of us… like he had been waiting for this exact moment.
“You knew,” I said slowly, my voice shaking. “You knew he was alive.”
He didn’t deny it.
Instead, he stepped forward just a little. “You deserve the truth.”
“Then start talking!” I snapped, my emotions finally spilling over. “Because I’m tired of secrets! I’m tired of running!”
My dad exhaled deeply, rubbing his forehead like the weight of everything was finally catching up to him.
“You weren’t supposed to be found,” he said.
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean I wasn’t supposed to be found?” I asked.
His eyes softened… but there was pain in them. Real pain.
“Because the night everything happened… it wasn’t an accident.”
My breathing stopped.
“What…?”
“That fire,” he continued slowly, “the one that destroyed everything… it was meant to kill someone.”
My hands started trembling.
“Who?”
He looked straight at me.
“You.”
The room spun.
I staggered back slightly, my body struggling to process what I just heard.
“No… no, that’s not possible…” I shook my head. “Why would anyone want to kill me?”
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Dangerous.
Then the man behind me spoke.
“Because of what you saw.”
I froze.
A memory flickered in my mind—blurred, incomplete, like something my brain had tried to bury.
Dark night.
Voices arguing.
A shadow.
A scream.
“I don’t remember anything,” I said quickly, panic rising in my chest.
“You do,” he said firmly. “You just buried it.”
I turned slowly to face him fully.
“Stop speaking like you know my mind,” I snapped. “You found me, yes. You followed me, yes. But don’t act like you *own* my past.”
His jaw tightened.
“I don’t own it,” he said quietly. “I’ve been protecting you from it.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
“Protecting me? By hunting me down after I changed my name, my life, everything? That’s your idea of protection?”
He didn’t respond immediately.
And that silence… that silence scared me more than anything.
My dad stepped forward suddenly.
“Enough,” he said sharply.
Both of us turned to him.
“If you’re here,” my dad said to the man, “then it means they’re close.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“They?” I repeated.
No one answered.
That was the worst part.
“Someone needs to explain what’s going on!” I shouted, my voice cracking. “Because right now, I feel like I’m standing in the middle of something that’s about to destroy me again!”
My dad looked at me… really looked at me.
And for the first time since he walked in, I saw fear in his eyes.
“They never stopped looking for you,” he said.
My throat went dry.
“Who?”
He hesitated.
Then
A loud sound echoed outside.
Like a car door slamming.
All three of us froze.
The man’s head snapped toward the window.
“They’re here.”
My heart dropped straight to my stomach.
“What do you mean *they’re here*?” I whispered.
He grabbed my wrist suddenly.
“Move. Now.”
“No!” I pulled back instantly. “I’m not going anywhere until someone explains—”
Another sound.
Closer this time.
Footsteps.
My dad moved quickly, locking the door and turning off the lights.
“Listen to me,” he said urgently, grabbing my shoulders. “Everything I did… faking my death… sending you away… it was to keep you alive.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“Then why does it feel like I was just thrown into a nightmare?” I asked.
“Because the nightmare isn’t over,” he said softly.
My chest tightened.
The man stepped closer again, his voice low and serious.
“We don’t have time. If they find her here, it’s over.”
My breathing became shallow.
“Find me for what?” I asked.
This time… he answered.
“To finish what they started.”
My heart stopped.
A loud knock hit the door.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
“Open up!”
A deep, unfamiliar voice.
Authority.
Danger.
I felt my knees weaken.
My dad looked at me one last time.
“You have to trust him,” he said.
I immediately shook my head. “No—”
“You don’t have a choice,” he cut in.
The man squeezed my wrist slightly—not harsh, but firm.
“Come with me,” he said.
Another bang on the door.
“WE KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!”
Tears slipped down my face.
Everything was happening too fast.
Too much.
Too real.
I looked between my dad… and the man who changed everything.
One was my past.
The other… was my only way out.
“Go,” my dad whispered.
My heart shattered.
“I just found you…” I said, my voice breaking.
“And I just saved you,” he replied.
The door shook violently.
They were forcing it open.
The man pulled me toward the back exit.
“Now!”
I hesitated for one second too long—
CRASH!
The front door burst open.
Heavy footsteps rushed in.
“SEARCH THE HOUSE!”
My heart jumped into my throat.
The man didn’t wait again.
He dragged me out through the back door into the cold night air.
We ran.
Fast.
My mind racing, my heart breaking, my past chasing me.
As we disappeared into the darkness, I turned back one last time.
Through the window…
I saw my dad being grabbed.
And our eyes met.
For a split second.
Then
He nodded.
Like he already knew what would happen next.
- Writer
